November is National Native American Heritage Month. To commemorate this important time of year, we invite you to discover the American Indian history in our region. Ohio is home to many internationally-recognized American Indian earthworks sites, and you don’t have to travel far to experience their history.
Below is a list of the American Indian sites within Ohio History Connection’s network that you can visit during November.
Big Bottom Memorial Park
Fallen Timbers Battlefield Memorial Park
Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve
Fort Jefferson Memorial Park
Fort Meigs
Inscription Rock Petroglyphs
Leo Petroglyphs & Nature Preserve
Logan Elm
Miamisburg Mound
Newark Earthworks
Serpent Mound
Shrum Mound
Story Mound
Sat., Nov. 13 • 7–8 p.m. EST
Hosted by Ohio History Connection
Virtual
$5, Free/Ohio History Connection member
On Veterans Day 2020, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian opened the National Native American Veterans Memorial on its grounds, honoring the extraordinary tradition of military service by generations of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian men and women.
Learn about the memorial and the history of Native American military service with Rebecca Head Trautmann, project curator for the National Native American Veterans Memorial and assistant curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of the American Indian. $5, Free/Ohio History Connection member. Advance registration required, visit ohiohistory.org/virtual.
Hosted by the Indiana Historical Society
Tues., Nov. 16 • 7–8:30 p.m. EST
Virtual
Free, registration required
This ongoing series examines the collective definition of equality at key moments in Indiana’s history to better understand who is considered a citizen, who gets a seat at the table, and who maintains power in our society. For the first conversation of Equal: A Work in Progress we will discuss the complexities of equality through the lens of indigeneity. Starting around the time of forced removal of the Miami and Potawatomi, learn about the inequalities in citizenship through race, land, culture, and language.
This program features Alex Wesaw, Tribal Council Member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and Ohio History Connection Director of American Indian Relations. Register for this program here: https://bit.ly/3ChbZjg
Sat., Nov. 20 • 1–2 p.m.
Ohio History Center, Columbus
Included with museum admission
$15, $13/ages 60+, $9/ages 4–12, Free/Ohio History Connection member or ages 3 & under
During this special program ideal for elementary school students, kids will learn about Ohio’s ancient American Indians through a live reading of A Bird’s Eye View of the Hopewell from author Charlotte Stiverson and have a chance to try out a pump drill.
Friday Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 • Showings at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Ohio History Center, Columbus
Included with museum admission
$15, $13/ages 60+, $9/ages 4–12, Free/Ohio History Connection member or ages 3 & under
The story of Pocahontas has been passed down through the centuries. Her relationship with John Smith has been characterized as a romance that united two cultures and created lasting peace. However, the life of this American Indian woman was anything but a fairytale. Join us as we look beyond the fiction and reveal the real story of Pocahontas, a tale of kidnapping, conflict, starvation, ocean journeys, and the future of an entire civilization.
Hosted by Ohio History Connection
Pre-recorded virtual program
Free
Learn the accurate stories surrounding the first Thanksgiving and how mythologies impacted our understanding of this holiday.
Discover the true stories of the earliest ways of celebrating the harvest in North America, including amongst the Shawnee people today. Explore the resources and ways to talk about this holiday that honor more complete stories of American Indians and their present day descendants. Presented by Reneé Gokey of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. Ger access to this pre-recorded program here: https://youtu.be/CgCpvLaGyXI
